Edible Stories

If you love to cook, The Spice and Tea Exchange is a perfect store to swing by anytime if you are shopping in Old Town or Annapolis, or weekending at the beach. Holiday seasonal gifts are aplenty here, it is hard to leave without trying something new--whether you are a spice and herb junkie and love trying new things, a discerning tea drinker or just love kitchen accouterments--almost certainly you'll leave with new things for yourself and gifts for others!

Joy Quinn-Whalen is the owner of three Spice & Tea Exchange stores—in Alexandria, Annapolis and Rehoboth. After graduating from business school and working as a consultant, she started looking for a consulting entrepreneurial opportunity. After happening onto a Spice & Tea Exchange in Florida while on a business trip, she left with a big shopping bag and an idea for starting her own franchise. She found out that it Spice & Tea Exchange was a small but growing franchise, 11 stores at the time in 2009; now 44. It was 2009 and there were a number of vacancies on King Street in Old Town, Alexandria she lived. After doing some analysis, she and a business partner (Taruna Reddy) opened their Old Town location on King Street in 2010 and an Annapolis store on historic Main Street in 2011. Quinn-Whalen went solo in 2013 to open two additional locations in Rehoboth Beach, DE and her fourth store in Ocean City, MD in 2015.

Quinn-Whalen describes her stores as a “wonderland of fine, savory, exotic spices and spice blends, gourmet teas, flavored sugars, salts, seasonings and accessories.” Spice & Tea offers unique and hard to find spices for the creative home cooks; many are specially blended onsite. Most custom blends are targeted to the cook who wants to prepare flavorful, healthy, fresh meals without huge effort, excess time or complex recipes. Quinn-Whalen is proud of the quality of her products and the knowledge of her staff. Check out their website for seasonal chef series, tea tasting classes and demonstrations: The Spice and Tea Exchange.

Winter-White Mulled Wine

Yield: 8-10 drinks Total Time: 35 mins Prep: 5 mins Cook: 30 mins

TSTE® Mulling Mix Spice Blend is used to craft a lighter-bodied mulled white wine full of wintery flavors. This warm & easy-to-make drink contains pear, cinnamon, and other lovely seasonal hints with an inviting scent that’s perfect for seasonal parties.

Ingredients from The Spice and Tea Exchange:

1 pkg TSTE® Mulling Mix Spice Blend

2 TBS TSTE® Raspberry Sugar

2 TBS TSTE® Vanilla Sugar

Cinnamon Stick - Korintje (optional garnish)

From the Grocer

2 - 750ml bottles Sauvignon Blanc wine

5 cups pear nectar

1 fresh pear (optional garnish)

Preparation:

Combine both bottles of Sauvignon Blanc wine, 5 cups of pear nectar, and TSTE® Mulling Mix Spice Blend in a slow cooker or in large saucepan on stove top.

Heat on very low heat for approximately 30 mins or until spices infuse to desired taste.

Combine the TSTE® Raspberry Sugar and TSTE® Vanilla Sugar and rim each glass.

Ladle mulled wine into glasses. Garnish each glass with a pear slice and cinnamon stick. KEEP beverage warm in slow cooker until gone!

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Published quarterly in time with the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) and available for free throughout the Washington metro area or by subscription, Edible DC focuses on the farmers, growers, fishers, home cooks, chefs and others who energize our culinary community.